The project of
Drew Daniel,
the Soft Pink Truth grew from a dare, and over time it remained musically daring. In between his busy careers as an academic, writer, and half of the boundary-pushing electronic duo
Matmos,
Daniel's work as
the Soft Pink Truth showcased his dazzlingly nimble production skills as well as his encyclopedic musical knowledge. From album to album, the project's focus shifted nearly as much as
Matmos' music did. On 2003's debut album
Do You Party?,
Daniel drew on house, funk, disco, and '80s R&B -- and composer
Erik Satie -- for its booty-shaking allure, but on the following year's
Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Soft Pink Truth?, he turned vintage punk and hardcore songs into house anthems that felt even more subversive than the original versions.
Daniel explored similar territory on 2014's Why Do the Heathen Rage?, which reconciled his love for the genre with the hateful politics of some of its artists in its sleekly danceable rhythms. He refuted any concerns that
the Soft Pink Truth was too cerebral with 2020's Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase?. A transcendent fusion of R&B and post-classical music that celebrated the good in humanity, it proved
Daniel could still find unexpected ways to tap into the transformative, joyous power of dance music.
The Soft Pink Truth began when
Matthew Herbert challenged
Daniel, who was performing in Paris with
Matmos, to make a house record.
Daniel responded with 2001's Soft Pink Missy 12", which
Herbert released on his Soundslike label. The second 12", "Promofunk," came in late 2002 and included a delirious, infectious update of
Vanity 6's "Make Up" (featuring vocals from
Blevin Blectum), and "Gender Studies," a dancefloor-bound clinic in sample stitching. January 2003 saw the release of the full-length
Do You Party?, which collected the eight tracks from the previous releases and added three additional tracks. The "Acting Crazy" 12" arrived later that year and featured "Do You Party?" remixes from
Herbert,
Safety Scissors, and
Brooks along with the new title track. For October 2004's
Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Soft Pink Truth?,
Daniel expanded on his flair for radical reinvention by transforming the songs of '70s and '80s punk and hardcore acts including
Crass,
Minor Threat, and
Die Kreuzen into sleek, club-oriented tracks.
In the years that followed the release of
Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Soft Pink Truth?,
Daniel relocated from San Francisco to Baltimore, worked with
Matmos, and became an academic. Though he continued to perform as
the Soft Pink Truth when he could, his busy schedule meant that the project's recorded work was limited. For the better part of a decade, remixes for artists ranging from
Otto Von Schirach,
Björk, and
Grizzly Bear made up the bulk of
Daniel's output as
the Soft Pink Truth. It wasn't until June 2014 that he returned with the project's third full-length album, Why Do the Heathen Rage?. Recorded in
Daniel's home studio and released by Thrill Jockey, the album gave
the Soft Pink Truth treatment to black metal and included collaborations with
Locrian's
Terence Hannum,
Wye Oak's
Jenn Wasner,
Anohni, and
Horse Lords'
Owen Gardner as well as
Daniel's partner,
Matmos' M.C. Schmidt. The following year,
Daniel self-released Why Pay More?, a collection whose title track was commissioned for a 2009 performance and included unreleased tracks from
the Soft Pink Truth's previous albums.
The demands of
Matmos and academia led
Daniel to take another lengthy break from
the Soft Pink Truth, but the project resurfaced in 2020 with a pair of complementary albums. That May, Thrill Jockey issued Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase?, which took the project in a very different direction that ranged from deep house music to post-classical pieces. A response to the fraught political and social climate of the late 2010s and early 2020s, it combined choral vocals courtesy of Colin Self,
Angel Deradoorian, and
Jana Hunter, as well as contributions from percussionist
Sarah Hennies, saxophonists
Andrew Bernstein and John Berndt, and piano performances by Schmidt and Koye Berry. A few weeks later,
Daniel self-released Am I Free to Go?, a collection of songs originally by crust-punk artists such as
Discharge and
Doom. The profits from the album were donated to the International Anti-Fascist Legal Defence Fund. ~ Heather Phares & Andy Kellman